Miron, Dan _A Traveler Disguised: The Rise of Modern Yiddish 
Fiction in the Nineteenth Century_, (reprint, originally 
published by Schoken, 1973) Judaic Traditions in Literature, 
Music and Art, eds. Ken Frieden and Harold Bloom, , Syracuse: 
Syracuse University Press, 1996. xviii + 347
pp., notes, bibliography, index, illustrations. $16.95 (paper). 
ISBN 0-8156-0330-4

	Reviewed for H-Judaic by Magdalena Teter, Columbia University
	(mot3@columbia.edu) 


_The Real Mendele Mokher Seforim_


         Mendele Mokher Seforim, commonly identified with Sh. Y. 
Abramovitsch and regarded as his pen-name, is widely accepted as "the
grandfather" of modern Yiddish literature.  In his book _A Traveler
Disguised_, Miron explores this phenomenon of identifying Mendele (the
literary character) with Abramovitsch (the author) in the context of the
rise of modern Yiddish fiction in the nineteenth century in general, and
the development of the "Mendele phenomenon" in particular. 
         Given that nineteenth century Jewish literature was generally to
"be of use to the people" and to contribute to the education of the
'unenlightened', and Yiddish was the spoken language of the Jewish masses
in Eastern Europe, the use of Yiddish would seem natural to Jewish authors
as their literary medium.  In his book, Dan Miron addresses this notion of
"naturalness" as it relates to Yiddish as a language for East European
Jewish literature.  He points out that there are several phenomena within
the development of nineteenth century Jewish literature which raise
questions as to the legitimacy of this notion, such as the "internal
bilingualism" of the authors (with few exceptions, Yiddish writers did not
write exclusively in Yiddish - if they did use Yiddish, they felt the need
to justify their choice - something which they never did when they chose
Hebrew as their literary medium) (p.14), use of pen-names, etc.  In the
eyes of nineteenth century Jewish intellectuals, Yiddish was seen as an
illegitimate literary medium - compared by Abramovitsch to a "strange
woman"  in his metaphor, where relations with Yiddish language are
compared to "sinful sexuality" (p.14).  Miron points out (pp.20-21) that
to most nineteenth century Jewish writers, the idea of writing in their
native language did not occur to them naturally - they had to "discover
it" - and yet the work of some of them, such as Sh.Y.  Abramovitsch or
Sholem Aleichem, is considered "quintessential Yiddish".  Yiddish as a
literary medium was rejected on aesthetic grounds;  when usage was
unavoidable, it was seen only as a temporary medium (as stated even by
Abramovitsch himself, p.49). Yiddish was not thought to be an appropriate
language of artistic expression - it was only for "artistic imitation". 
Books in Yiddish were, similarly to children's books, created according to
Miron, " for the reader" and not to satisfy writers' artistic needs.(p.69)
          Unlike Hebrew writers of the late eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries who could find 'respectable' literary precedents, Yiddish
writers of this period found no artistic link with older Yiddish
literature (e.g.  _Tsene Urene_, _Bovo-bukh_ or the Hasidic writings)
because they found it offensive to their maskilic sensibilities (p.23). 
Until the 1880's the existence of modern Yiddish literature was generally
ignored - even by Yiddish authors. Sholem Aleichem, for example "knew next
to nothing about the existence of Yiddish literature"  before 1881-1882,
(p.28). 
          In order to legitimatize Yiddish literature and make it
respectable, there was a need to create a "tradition", which Miron traces
to "a few writers and journalists" in the 1880s (p.27). Miron poignantly
describes the creation of the tradition: 

     "what was unimaginable in 1885 was taken for granted in 1895.  In
1880 Yiddish writers did not suspect they had a history, by the early
1890s, they already had produced one "classic writer"; before the century
ended _The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century_ was
written in English for American readers by a Harvard instructor."  (p. 
31)

          What was Mendele's place in this tradition?  While traditionally
seen as "the grandfather" of modern Yiddish literature, Mendele is wrongly
- as Miron argues convincingly - identified with Sh. Y. Abramovitsch. The
process of amalgamation of Mendele, the character, and Abramovitsch, the
artist, began with Sholem Aleichem's efforts to create a tradition of
Yiddish literature.  Miron stresses that Mendele is not a pseudonym of
Abramovitsch (pp.157, 201) he was another literary facet of Abramovitsch.
Abramovitsch himself was aware of the existence of this duality and
underscored Mendele's independence. 
          As pointed out by Berditschevsky (1906), there existed a tension
between "us" (intellectual Europeanized Jews) and "the Jew"  (traditional
Jews) (p.76).  Hence the need for a 'mediator'between these two Jewish
worlds - someone like Mendele who is traditionally seen as a 'simple' Jew,
a folk character. However, Dan Miron convincingly argues that Mendele
cannot be regarded as a _folkstip_. He is not a 'typical' shtetl or
village Jew.  He is detached from communal life. Mendele's attitude
towards the Jewish religion and Jewish people is very ambiguous.  Under a
mask of tradition he says things that members of traditional East European
Jewish communities would or could not: he subverts tradition.  He is a
traveler disguised.  In order to underscore this point, Miron compares
Mendele with Sholem Aleichem's characters - in particular with Tevye
(pp.174-176).  According to Dan Miron, Mendele's function as an ironic
persona and his status as a _rhetorical medium_ give freedom of narrative
movement which is, as the author of _The Traveler Disguised_ argues, one
of Abramovitsch's greatest contribution to modern Jewish literature. 
          Dan Miron offers a non-traditional, thought-provoking
interpretation of Abramovitsch's writings and of Abramovitsch's creation,
Mendele Mokher Seforim.  Even though originally published over 20 years
ago this book still offers a compelling discussion of the development of
nineteenth century Yiddish fiction.  Because of its thought-provoking
argument, the valuable notes, and bibliography, this book is a rewarding
resource for both students and teachers of East European Jewish history
and literature, as well as for those more generally interested in Jewish
literature. 

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